Fortune Kamasa
Fortune Kamasa, a quack doctor who was arrested by officials of the Medical and Dental Council while he was attending to patients at the St Joseph’s Hospital, Hohoe in the Volta Region, has been jailed 17 years.
Kamasa was jailed after a Hohoe circuit court had found him guilty of two counts of practising medicine without authority and receiving money for the practice of medicine without authority.
Fourteen others who were also arrested in the course of the operation are still in the cooler awaiting their fate.
The suspects are Joseph Sowah Masopeh, Ernest Eduah, Robert Eduah, Isaac Nyarko, Sacrates Atieku, Adams Arimeyaw, Honu Wonder, Johnny Walker Kwakye, Owusu Ansah and Humphrey Christian K. Gbeho.
The rest are Innocent Gogovi, Dauda Amidu Titus Adandada, Bernard Appah, and Christian Amegashie.
They were arrested operating in five regions – Greater Accra (Accra and Tema), Volta, Eastern, Central and Brong-Ahafo Regions.
Chief Executive Officer of the Medical and Dental Council, Dr Ali Kwasi Atikpui, told the media that the suspects were apprehended operating in their respective hideouts.
While some had established their own health facilities, others had fake certificates and were using them to operate in some well known hospitals.
Narrating how Kamasa was arrested, Dr Atikpui said some time in July this year, the council had information that a young man was practising medicine at the St Joseph’s Hospital.
The taskforce then moved in and with the help of the Hohoe police, Kamasa was apprehended.
Further investigations revealed that the suspect never had any formal training in medicine but had worked with one Dr Michael Tsigbe, now deceased, and learnt the practice through observation.
On October 10, 2017, he appeared before Yao Acheampong, Hohoe circuit court judge and was charged with the offence of practising medicine without authority.
On October 11, 2017, the court found him guilty of the offence and sentenced him to ten years in prison and a fine of 1,000 penalty units; in default, he would serve additional five years in jail.
Kamasa was also charged to refund an amount he received from the investigating team for their ‘treatment’ in the course of the investigation and was slapped with a jail term of two years.
The court also ordered that the facility be closed down while exhibits were also confiscated to the state.
Dr Atikpui averred that due to the activities of the quack doctors, from January 2018, all doctors, physician assistants, dentists and anaesthetics would be compelled to hold practitioner’s stamp which would be provided by the council, for easy identification.
This, he said, is to ensure that patients know the names of their doctors and as well be able to report them to the council if they are not satisfied with the services rendered.
“Last year, a total of 19 quack doctors were apprehended, and out of the number, five had also been convicted while the others are still in court battling their case,” Dr Atikpui indicated.
He called on individuals to be on the look-out for the activities of these quack doctors and report them to the council or the police.
By Linda Tenyah-Ayettey
(lindatenyah@gmail.com)